DRC journalists urge ruling party to halt abuse

An estimated 200 Congolese journalists marched to the National Assembly in Kinshasa on Friday
to show their outrage over reports that supporters of incumbent President
Joseph Kabila have physically and verbally abused members of the press.

The
marchers converged on the assembly bearing audio recordings of crude insults that a member
of the chamber apparently hurled at journalist Eugénie Ntumba during an aborted interview
this month, according to local journalists. In the recording, a
man identified as assembly member Yves Kisombe accused the journalist of not
disclosing the purpose of her call before asking a question. "What is the
name of this whore? What is the name of this bitch who has dared to disrespect
me?" the man shouted in the recording. Kisombe, a member of Kabila's ruling People's Party
for Reconstruction andDemocracy, claimed the audiotape was fabricated, although his party formally
apologized to the
journalist.

Inside
the halls of the assembly, a delegation of journalists led by Polydor Muboyayi, head of the self-regulatory group Observatory of Congolese
Media, met with Speaker Evariste Boshab, according to news
reports. "We don't
understand how those who hold seats in parliament, who have debated gender
[issues], could utter such terms," news accounts quoted Muboyayi as telling Boshab.

Muboyayi
also urged authorities to ensure the safety of journalists before and after November
presidential elections, noting that several journalist murders
have gone unsolved since 2005. "During this delicate period, we do not want
journalists to be the grass stomped by fighting elephants," he was quoted as
saying.

Responding
to the marchers, Boshab said he had not listened to recordings of the Ntumba
interview but had referred the matter to the public prosecutor. Marchers walked
out on the speaker when he addressed concerns about journalist safety by urging
the news media to report impartially.

Boshab's own
credibility on press freedom issues suffered a recent blow. Just a week prior to
the march, Boshab's security guards attacked cameraman Serge Kembila of Radio Télévision
Groupe l'Avenir (RTGA) for filming empty seats during a ruling party
congress at a Kinshasa stadium, the local press freedom group Journaliste En
Danger reported.
The group quoted
Kembila as saying that security guards pounced on him and confiscated his
footage.

Ironically, Kembila's station
openly supports Kabila, and Ntumba's station is owned by the president's appointed
prime minister, Adolphe Kizito. An August 2 editorial in L'Avenir, the sister newspaper to RTGA, perhaps best explained what is
happening: "During this period, media is
in high demand. But it is also the scapegoat of politicians."

Mohamed Keita is advocacy coordinator for CPJ's Africa Program. Keita has written about independent journalism and development in sub-Saharan Africa for publications including The New York Times and Africa Review, and has appeared on NPR, the BBC, Al-Jazeera, and Radio France Internationale. Keita has also given presentations on press freedom at the World Bank, U.S. State Department, and universities. Follow him on Twitter: @africamedia_CPJ.